Zane wrote:
> On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 00:28:32 -0800, "Carmen L. Abruzzi"
> wrote:
>
> (snip)
>
>
>>>What's the kick down?
>>
>>OK, got it. It's how the automatic tranny is supposed to shift down
>>when you press down on the accelerator and demand more power. Well,
>>first of all, this takes seconds to kick in, and when it does, it
>>producess a sudden lurch, since you're already feeding more fuel to the
>>engine. This is totally unlike what happens when you shift manually to
>>a lower gear, when you might actually ease off the accelerator to
>>maintain a constanst speed.
>
>
> Current automatic transmissions, where the shifting is controlled by a
> computer, are much better at this. One can control the rpm smoothly
> with just the accelerator -- almost as well as with a manual but with
> no hands and only one foot. It becomes second nature after a while.
>
>
>>And, as I said, this never works to keep your speed slow on a downhill
>>stretch.
>
>
> Unless your brakes are going to fade to the point where you can't
> stop, gearing down to slow down is not recommended by most "experts".
> The engine is much more expensive than brake pads. Not having brake
> lights on can also be dangerous relative to getting rear-ended.
I'm not talking about using the engine to slow down. I'm talking about
using a lower gear to maintain a constant speed when heading down a long
steep slope. The lower gear prevents gravity from causing the car to
accelerate, and this shouldn't be damaging to the engine, while constant
braking in such a situation will soon overheat the brake fluid and cause
complete loss of braking power.
>
>
>>I just can't see why anyone who can drive a shift would ever prefer an
>>automatic. Can you?
>
>
> I've owned several of each and each has its advantages. As others
> have said, the auto is much more relaxing to drive in heavy traffic.
OK, there's one situation where I can see having an automatic
transmission would be preferable. But if that is one's major driving
experience, I guess I'd amend my statement to "I just can't see why
anyone would ever prefer to drive at all".
In such situations, I tend to get off the road and use alternate routes
or just go for a coffee or sandwich until the blockage has cleared up.
>
> BTW, I seem to recall from years-old statistics that automatic
> transmissions actually last longer (or have lower probability of
> needing major repairs) than manual/clutch systems in the U.S.
Oh, of course, you're going to have to replace the clutch every 5 or 10
years, for $500 or so. And automatics generally run without trouble,
*but* when the do have trouble it's more like $5000 to get them repaired.
Also,
> the average person gets better gas mileage with an auto. I would
> guess that this is/was probably due to the inexpertness of the average
> driver and the effect of the high torque of large U.S. engines on
> clutches.
>
> Zane |